Ab initio
by White Asphodel
Summary: James Potter never thought his first year at Hogwarts would be this tough - lessons are much harder than he thought, there's something strange about one of his friends, one boy keeps competing against him and to top it off, an irritating Slytherin keeps f
1. Default Chapter

"Do you have everything now?"  
  
"Yes, mum."  
  
"Are you sure you have everything James?"  
  
"Yes, mum."  
  
"All your school books? Telescope? Wand? Owl?"  
  
"Yes, yes, yes and yes. Mum, I have ever-"  
  
"Clean underwear?"  
  
"MUM!"  
  
James looked up through his glasses at his mother with cheeks burning with embarrassment. It was to be his first ever day at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry and he was plenty nervous enough; the last thing he'd want was someone to hear his mum talking about his clean underwear! Mrs Potter looked down at her only son lovingly and in her eyes were tears of happiness. She spread her arms wide, gave a little cry of joy and was about to bend down to embrace her son in the tightest hug he'd ever have in his life – James looked prepared to run – until she was interrupted by a heavy hand on her shoulder. Mr Potter, James' dad, had come to say goodbye to James. His face was rather red and sweaty from having to take James' trunk and owl cage to the scarlet train that stood motionless behind them.  
  
"Soon time to go, son." He said happily. He was taking his leave a lot better than his mother. With one hand, he held onto James' scrawny shoulder – his other hand preoccupied with trying to restrain his wife from hugging their son to death. "Have fun, do well and...promise me one thing?"  
  
James quirked a brow, but guessed what was coming.  
  
"Promise me you won't get into trouble."  
  
In James' mind, he didn't really think it fair of his father assuming that it was him that got into trouble. It was just trouble always followed him, no matter where he went! Just last week, James had managed to get into trouble by "accidentally" cursing the neighbour's pet Yorkshire terrier, Bubbles. He sniggered inwardly, remembering the sight of it all, the look on his neighbour's face and her sobs and screams...and of course, what Bubbles looked like stuck on top of next door's chimney. Mr Potter gave a small grunt, awaiting his son's answer. Snapping out of his thoughts, James smiled in what he thought was an innocent manner and hid his hands behind his back, crossing his fingers.  
  
"Father, I solemnly swear that I won't get up to no good." He said sweetly while all the while thinking in his head how much he couldn't wait to use that whole bag of dungbombs that he had secretly stored in the corner of his school trunk.  
  
"That's my boy." Mr Potter said, ruffling James' already messy hair. Mrs Potter smiled and began to wipe her eyes with the corner of her handkerchief. Hogwarts express let off some smoke, engulfing platform nine and three quarters and all who inhabited it at present. A few of the pupils' younger siblings giggled happily and started playing around in the steam. All three Potters turned to look at the large clock that hung on the platform wall beside the iron wrought gate that separated platform nine and three quarters and the muggle world of Kings Cross station. Its loopy fingers pointed out the time of ten to eleven. James could feel his body begin to shiver with excitement; very soon he'd be boarding the train that would take him to Hogwarts, the place he had dreamt of ever since he was a little boy and his father and mother would tell him stories of their time at the magical school. He looked up expectantly at his parents.  
  
"I guess I should go now...find a seat quickly." He said, hardly able to contain the anticipation from his voice. His parents nodded, though his mother looked rather reluctant. She kissed him goodbye on the cheek, her watery eyelashes tickling the leg of James' glasses; his father ruffled his hair once again.  
  
And with a nod of the head, James bolted to the nearest door of the train and ran in. The gangway was choc full with pupils of all ages, some dressed in their school robes, some in wizarding clothes and some in muggle attire, running around looking for friends and seats. Some were even carrying such things as books, cases, owl cages and a few girls walked around with cats in their arms. James felt a sudden twinge of fear deep within his stomach, fluttering like he'd had a bowl of butterflies for breakfast that morning. He had only just realised how many pupils were actually attending Hogwarts, and amongst the vast throng of people, he knew no one. He was lonely and new, and no one was there to help – to show him the ropes, so to speak.  
  
Gingerly, he picked through the stuffy gangway, peering through each compartment window in search of a free seat. At last, he found an empty compartment, and sliding open the door, walked in and sat down beside the window overlooking the platform brimming full of parents, children, trunks and animals. He spotted his parents in an instant, making their way through the crowd up to his window. He opened it up and with some difficulty, poked his head through the small gap to greet his parents.  
  
"Oh, my little Jamie –"started his mum.  
  
"MUM! Don't call me that!" James' cheeks scorched crimson, his eyes darted around in case someone had overheard his mother calling him Jamie. His father laughed heartily.  
  
"Yes, dear, don't call him that. He's grown up now...going to Hogwarts." Said Mr Potter, putting his arm around his wife's shoulders.  
  
"Oh." Sobbed Mrs Potter. "Just be a good boy, look after yourself, make us proud, and if there's any trouble, you write to us straight away!"  
  
James laughed. "Mum, I'll be fine. Don't worry. And I'll write to you! Every month."  
  
"Every week." Corrected his mother. "Or every day, if you want, my little wizard. My window's always open for owls."  
  
James opened his mouth to say something, but before his words even got a chance to make themselves heard, another voice appeared, coming from behind him. Bumping his head on the wooden pane of the window, he extracted his head and looked over his shoulder. Standing in the doorway was the sickliest boy James had ever seen. His skin was sallow, his black hair was dirty and, though James knew it wasn't the boy's fault, he couldn't help but notice his rather large hooked nose. The boy's black eyes glared rather disdainfully at James's feet, which were standing upon the seat so as to reach the window. James gave him a rather lopsided grin, his eyes moving down to look at the large beaten book in the boy's matchstick arms. He opened his mouth, revealing a set of crooked yellowing teeth.  
  
"I said, may I seat here as the other compartments are rather full?" he asked.  
  
"Oh, yeah." Answered James, rather taken aback by the boy's sudden presence. The boy went to sit opposite him, the book still in his arms as though it was precious treasure to him. James turned back to his parents, after giving the lad an apologetic look.  
  
"I must go now." James said plainly. "I have company."  
  
"Oh, a new friend! I knew you'd fit right in, James!" said his mother, wiping more tears from her hazel eyes. Mr Potter, reached into his pocket, retrieved a small velvet bag and passed it on to James through the window. He gave his dad a bewildered look but took the bag none the less.  
  
"A little something for you. In case you get hungry on the trip there." Smiled his father.  
  
Eagerly, James undid the small cord and opened the bag, revealing a rather good amount of silver sickles. He smiled, his eyes wide with wonder. All them sickles, just for him to spend on food and whatnot on the way to Hogwarts. Pleased, he turned back to the window with the certain feeling that the boy opposite was craning in his seat for a view of what was in the bag. Perhaps if he was friendly enough, James might buy something to eat for him – perhaps.  
  
"Thanks mum, dad!" he said in a rather breathless voice. The smile on his parents' faces grew immensely. With a wave, James slid onto the seat to sit down, not bothered to close the window. The boy just stared out through the window, glancing askance every so often in James' direction. An awkward silence was about to settle between the two, James could feel it. So, he cleared his throat and decided to make the most of having a fellow first year alone with him and thought it best to give potential friendship a shot.  
  
"My parents just gave me some sickles." He said weakly.  
  
"How nice of them." Replied the boy, though he didn't sound like he meant it. He turned to look at James and sniffed. With a thin finger, he carefully pointed at Mr and Mrs Potter while still trying to keep his book in his hands.  
  
"They're your parents?" he asked. He looked very uninterested as though talking to James was a tedious chore.  
  
"Yeah." James had run out of words to say to him. After a while, he added, "where are yours?"  
  
Suddenly, a strange turn came over the boy. He shifted awkwardly and looked down at his feet, his expression a picture of sadness.  
  
"They didn..." he stopped and pondered a better word. "...couldn't...they couldn't come."  
  
"Oh."  
  
That awful silence blanketed the compartment for a while, plunging the two boys into deep thought of one another. After a while, Hogwarts express' breaks gave a whistle and another gust of smoke emitted from it, blanketing the platform from sight until it dispersed away.  
  
"What did you say your name was again?" asked the boy, starting James a little; he hadn't had expected the boy to talk.  
  
"I didn't." he replied truthfully. "I'm James Potter."  
  
"Severus Snape." Introduced the boy and turned back to the window. "You're from a wizarding family, aren't you?"  
  
"Ye-es." Said James cautiously. He remembered his father telling him about a group of pupils in Hogwarts back when he was a child that would hate pupils that were muggle-born. James didn't really understand why anyone would hate them; there was nothing all that wrong with their kind at all! He began to wonder if Severus was one of these wizards that thought different. But all Severus did was nod.  
  
"Then you'd know all about the Black family." He spoke. "Seems there'll be one joining us this year." Severus nodded over at a direction upon the platform. James squinted and tried to find the person he was talking about. Of course he had heard of the Black family – dark wizards, that's what they were notorious for being. They seemed to delve deeply into the dark arts and the thought of a Black joining him in his year seemed rather terrifying yet intriguing at the same time. After a while, James spotted what Severus had nodded at. The whole family seemed to have come to say goodbye to their fellow relative, and it was pretty obvious whom it was that was attending Hogwarts this year. One was a young girl with icy blonde hair, while the other was a tall boy with black hair; the family seemed to make more of a fuss of the girl than the boy. James squinted harder, the better to see their faces, but to no avail. Perhaps he could get a better view of them once they had boarded the train, which they were doing without even a second glance at each other.  
  
The clock struck eleven exactly, and Hogwarts express gave a shrill whistle as its old wheels began to turn. James turned to the window to wave his last goodbyes to his parents as the train began to move out of the platform, slowly at first and then gained speed. Before he knew it, platform nine and three quarters was nothing more than a blur and countryside fell on either side of them, the train rocking steadily on the rails as it made its way to their destination. It wasn't long before the two boys picked up another conversation, mostly about which houses they'd like to be put in and Quidditch. James had to admit, he wasn't liking Severus all that much, but he knew not to be ungrateful and tried to make the most of the fact that he wasn't technically alone any more. He had made some sort of acquaintance.  
  
Severus seemed to desperately want to be put into the house of Slytherin. He constantly talked of all the "great" wizards that that particular house had turned out, of the sheer dignity and pride of being a Slytherin, not to mention all the respect one would get with the serpentine badge embroidered upon one's robe. He even knew the history of Salazar Slytherin, and as he recited it to James, he tried to look interested by nodding his head and "Oh?"ing and "wow"ing in what he thought was the right places. He knew the kind of wizards and witches that went to Slytherin...  
  
A large glassy lake replaced the countryside outside by the time the old witch with the food cart came past their compartment. James was feeling particularly hungry; he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, and by now, that felt like ages ago. Taking his bag of sickles, he bought as much sweets as he possibly could – pumpkin pasties, liquorice wands, fizzing whizzbees, chocolate frogs, every flavour beans and an assortment of other sweets – and brought them back to the compartment, dropping them clumsily onto the seat next to him. Hungrily, he opened up a pumpkin pasty and bit into greedily. Severus watched him, licking his lips lightly. With a pumpkin-covered smirk, James grabbed a chocolate frog and threw it towards Severus.  
  
"You look hungry." He said thickly through a mouthful of pasty. "Help yourself!"  
  
And so, the both of them spent the next ten minutes chewing away in happy silence at all the food James had bought. The compartment door slid open and peering in was squat little boy with beady watery eyes. Despite his plump figure, he had a very rat-like face. He blushed bashfully as he saw the two boys.  
  
"Excuse me, can I sit with you...please?" he asked, or more like squeaked.  
  
From the corner of his eye, James could see Severus propping up his feet onto the seat beside him as though signalling to the boy that the answer was purely no. The boy looked like he was about to cry. With a rather guilty pang, James moved what was left of the food closer to him, making enough room for the boy to sit down. Upon seeing this, the boy smiled, whispered a thank you and plonked himself down.  
  
"I'm Peter, by the way." He said, eyeing the sweets beside him. "Can I have some beans please? They're my favourite sweets."  
  
"Sure. Have a bag." Said James, tossing a bag of Bertie Botts over to him. "I'm James and that there is Severus."  
  
"Eese oo eet oo." Said Peter while shoving handfuls of beans into his mouth at the same time. He was meant to say "pleased to meet you" but James would never really know that.  
  
The pupils were getting restless, and that was to say the least. They were beginning to stream from their compartments and into the gangway, running around, playing games and mixing with everyone else. The prefects and Head Boy and Girl did try their best, but were clearly outnumbered so no one listened to them. From the quiet comforts of their compartment, James, Severus and Peter could hear the frantic screams of a girl and the bark- like laughter of a boy quite near them. Curious, James shifted the door open and peeked outside, followed by his acquaintances. The two Black children that he had seen on the platform stopped right in front of them, the boy holding a wand high in the air, waving it slightly. The girl stood with her hands planted firmly on her hips in a determined manner, and she would've been rather pretty had her face not been contorted with an angry pout.  
  
"Give me my wand back this instance!" she screamed.  
  
"Oh come on, sissy, all you have to do is jump to get it!" teased the boy.  
  
"Give it back NOW! And my name's not sissy! It's Narcissa!" she screamed, her voice becoming hoarse. "Give me it or...I'll tell your mum!"  
  
The boy laughed. "Oh yeah! Is that really going to make me give you back your wand? I'm always being told of by dear mumsy, what's one more row?"  
  
The girl, known as Narcissa, glared at the three boys that stood watching the whole scene as though she had only just noticed they were there. Her mouth twitched into an angry grimace.  
  
"Well? Don't just stand there! HELP ME!" She ordered. Peter squeaked with fright and scrambled back into the safety of the compartment.  
  
The boy turned to look at them. Taken aback by the girl's rudeness, James opened his mouth then shut it then opened it again, finding it difficult to find the proper words. In the end, he ended up saying "Er excuse me...give that wand back to the girl...er...please." The boy just laughed at James.  
  
"Just stay out of this if you know what's good for you, OK?" Laughed the boy and went back to taunting Narcissa. Something heavy fell on James' foot with a deep thud. He grimaced and recoiled his foot away from the offending object that happened to be the beaten book that Severus had been holding so close. Upon its leather cover was the swirly inscription, "Grimoire Darke Art."  
  
Severus had whipped out his own wand and had aimed it quickly at the boy's hand.  
  
"EXPELLIARMUS!" Yelled Severus and the wand shot out of the boy's hand. Narcissa quickly made a grab for her wand from the floor and pulled a face at him. Turning to face the boys, she flashed Severus a brilliant smile.  
  
"Thank you ever so much." She said, and then glared at James. "And you? Thanks for nothing!"  
  
James ignored her comment, but sneered at her back as she left for her compartment. His mind was buzzing with curiosity after what he had seen. That spell was pretty amazing, even for someone who had lived seeing spells happen all the time. He wondered how Severus knew such a spell and if he'd had practise since his aim was pretty fantastic. All Severus did was pocket his wand and pick his book up quietly, not making a fuss at all as though he had used expelliarmus a thousand times. The boy stood right in front of him, looking down with coldness in his eyes.  
  
"You!" he said this, poking his chest. "You keep that abnormally big nose out of my business from now on, because if you don't, I'll curse you to the next world!"  
  
And with that, he strode off down the gangway. James stood there and watched him go. He was always brought up to always know someone before judging them, but with that boy he couldn't help it – he seemed like quite the horrible git and James was hoping not to have to talk to him again.

* * *

_Characters and basically anything that has to do with the wizarding world is © to J.K.Rowling._


	2. The Great Hall incident

_[A/N] Just to say, I'm no good at poetry, so brace yourself when it comes to the sorting song! :p_

* * *

A layer of darkness had settled, consuming the landscape about Hogwarts express by the time the train had stopped with a screech beside a lighted platform. The jerk of the train braking woke James up from his little snooze. With a yawn and a stretch, James sat up properly and looked outside rather groggily. Through the shadows he could see the blurry lights of Hogsmeade station. He gasped audibly and jumped up, realising that he was still dressed in muggle-like clothes (he was forced to so that he wouldn't draw attention at King's cross.). He was to walk through the doors of Hogwarts in a matter of a few minutes, and he hadn't got dressed into his school robes yet! Severus sat, ready and dressed, watching him like a hawk and even Peter was in his robes, though they were sticky with the food he had eaten and cluttered by their wrappings.  
  
"Why didn't you wake me up?" James spat rather angrily at the other two.  
  
Peter shrugged. "Well, you looked quite..._peaceful_." His voice shook slightly as though scared to voice his opinion.  
  
Severus just stood up and looked at James nonchalantly, holding up his book tightly to his chest.  
  
"You have drool dripping from the side of your mouth." He drawled and walked out of the compartment. James watched him go with slight disbelief while quickly wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his jumper.  
  
"Uhhh...could you leave please? I need to get changed." Said James. He had an edge of annoyance in his voice due to the fact that he had over-slept, though he didn't mean to take it out on Peter. He just gave him a rather sad look and nodded up at him. He slid off the chair, wrappers and crumbs falling to the floor and walked up to the open door; scores of pupils of all ages walked down the gangway at speed to get off the train.  
  
"I'll...meet you outside?" asked Peter. He sounded sad, yet there was a distinct tone of hope somewhere deep inside. James nodded, giving him a smile. He was suddenly feeling very apologetic for taking his little bout of anger on him when there was no need. Peter left, leaving James alone. As he pulled the robes over his head, the butterfly feeling deep within the pit of his stomach had grown immensely by the second. All the thoughts of Hogwarts life came crashing down upon him – all them children, the sorting, having to live with people he didn't know, and...the lessons. His stomach churned and he suddenly felt sick, half of him excited to start this new school, the other half of him wanting to stay on the train and go back to the safe comforts of his home.  
  
Once done up his laces, he bolted down the train and out the nearest door. Stepping down onto the platform, the cold September wind whipping his face rather painfully and blowing his shaggy fringe away from his eyes, he realised that his legs were shaking. Probably because he had been sat on the same seat for what seemed like hours. James tried to get a look around the place, but to no avail. No matter where he turned, all he could see was heads and shoulders, or lights. He could hardly see the station at all, and things only got worse when Hogwarts express blew out steam from underneath, sending the platform into a hazy blanket of hot-smelling smoke. James coughed and took off his glasses to wipe them.  
  
"Firs' years! Firs' years this way!" bellowed a deep voice from high above.  
  
James and many others looked up to the direction of the voice and opened their mouths with wonder. Floating high above the ocean of heads was a pair of black eyes surrounded by a large mound of scraggly hair and a very unkempt beard. His head was huge, but nothing compared to the rest of his body, that was enormous! He looked far too big to be allowed. In his hand he held a large lamplight. Despite his large figure, his eyes still shone with certain warmth that told you that you could trust him.  
  
"C'mon firs' years. This way!" he called, waving another hand up to signal which direction he wanted them to go. With much struggling and "excuse me"s, James finally managed to get up to the giant. Peter and Severus were already standing there, a look of intimidation gleaming in their eyes as they looked up at the large man. He smiled at the two of them and stood with them, waiting for the rest of the first years to get there, which took some time, for most of them were rather shy and didn't like having to push and shove their way to an enormous bearded stranger.  
  
Finally, the whole first year was grouped together and the platform was cleared as the rest of the school made their way to some strange place. James wondered if they were going to follow them after a while. But they didn't. The bearded man introduced himself as Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts castle, and then he told them to follow him down to a lake. Like obedient puppies, the first years followed Hagrid off the platform and down a slope; it must've been raining at some point for the ground had become slippery with mud and many a pupil went skidding down to the lake, instead of walking down. Even James was finding it difficult to walk down without his feet in fear of slipping into different directions – half the time he had to hold on to anyone nearby to stop himself from making a fool of himself by landing flat on his back side.  
  
At last, they managed to reach the borders of a lake. Its blackened waves lapped lazily against the muddy edges, bopping at least a dozen little boats upon its surface. From some distance, high upon a peak stood a large impressive castle. The turrets and towers seemed to spiral high up into the night clouds and thousands of windows were dotted with light like eyes looking down at them all with a certain warm gleam. A few owls flew overhead the pupils making their way to the school. The children stood with mouths wide open, some were in silent awe, and some had burst into rushed excited chatter. Hagrid turned to them.  
  
"Now, this lake 'ere's gonna take us to Hogwarts, grea'est school of wizardry an' witchcraft yeh'll ever get, an' run by the grea'est wizard of all time – Albus Dumbledore." Said Hagrid. As he said the headmaster's name a gleam of admiration could be seen deep within his beetle-black eyes. "Righ', four to a boat an' step quick too it."  
  
The children did as they were told with haste, slipping sometimes on the mud. James quickly found a boat and was about to put one foot into it before he felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun around, almost losing his balance and toppling into the water, if it hadn't been for a pair of hands helping him.  
  
"Sorry mate, didn't mean to frighten you like that." Said a voice. He helped James up properly with a smile on his haggard face. To think he was the same age as him, he didn't look it and around his eyes were dark tired rings. His hair was very fine and of a mousy colour. "I was just wondering if me and my new friend here could sit on the same boat as you."  
  
"Oh." James got back onto the shore and looked behind the friendly boy. Stood behind him was a small person, though it was rather difficult to see his or her face in the darkness. "Well, it's four to a boat and..." He looked askance at Peter and Severus as they tried to get to James without landing on their faces. "...I'm saving two seats for my friends..." James sounded rather disappointed. For some reason there was something quite likable about this new acquaintance. The boy just shrugged and smiled.  
  
"Not to worry. We'll find another boat." He turned away to walk, but looked back at James. "My name's Remus, by the way, just in case we bump into each other later on in Hogwarts." And with that, he smiled and left.  
  
With much fumbling and struggling, the three boys managed to get onto the boat without capsizing it and sat down, though they were far from comfortable. Peter was holding onto the sides of the boat with dear life until his knuckles had turned white. Hagrid moved around each boat, checking that everything was all right. When he came over to James' boat, he gave a grunt and furrowed his brow – or, at least, James thought so, but wasn't really sure due to the fact that his hair was hiding most of his forehead.  
  
"Oi! You there! C'mon over 'ere to fill up this boat!" called Hagrid, beckoning a pupil to come over, and the pupil, with some reluctance, sauntered over. James turned to face the pupil with a friendly smile.  
  
"Hel...oh no..." James' voice trailed off as he realised who it was. The boy on the train. He grinned down fiercely at James and clapped his hands.  
  
"Ah, if it isn't my _friends_ on the train?" he said. James grimaced, not sure whether or not he liked the idea of sharing a boat with this boisterous boy. He jumped into the boat, rocking it slightly, and took a seat right beside James.  
  
"Good, you know each other, tha's good." Said Hagrid. He gave the boys a wink before trudging off to his own boat. The boy nudged James sharply in the ribs.  
  
"What?" James asked rather irritated – that nudge had hurt somewhat.  
  
"So, what's your name?" he asked.  
  
"Too cold to talk." He said, though it wasn't really true. Despite the wind, the air was rather warm and buzzed with celebration that probably radiated from Hogwarts. James had only said that so as not to have to talk to the boy for the remainder of the journey. Strangely enough, the boy laughed.  
  
"Too cold, huh?" he said, with teasing in his voice. "Don't be stupid. Now, _this_ is cold!"  
  
_"Wha-!?"_  
  
SPLASH! The boy had thrown James off the boat and into the shallow waves of the lake. James squealed and jumped up like a frightened cat. The water was like ice, so cold it burnt slightly. It went everywhere – above his head, down his back, into his shoes. He spluttered and tried to wipe the little splatters off his glasses with shivering hands, his teeth chittering wildly. The boy laughed loudly, practically roaring, and such noise had brought the attention of nearby pupils to stare at what was going on. Some of them sniggered, and even Peter's face kept twitching into a smile. Angry, James turned on the boy, face contort with fury and fists clenched, ready to hit him until Hagrid's voice bellowed over the noise of laughter.  
  
"Oi, wha's goin' on over there?" he asked.  
  
Severus spoke up.  
  
"He was puuuu-"  
  
And that was all he could say, for the boy had cunningly spun round and pushed him into the lake too, to save his own skin.  
  
"Fell!" called the boy. "They fell. Mr Hagrid...uhhh...sir, I think this boat's a little rickety."  
  
"Cold. So cold." Severus spluttered, getting up from the lake, holding around himself to keep the little warmth he had left from escaping. James' fury rose up like hot bile.  
  
"Why, you little -!" He shouted, and without a warning or a second thought, sprang onto the boy, the both of them falling into the lake with a deep plonk and began to fight.

The large double doors opened heavily with a protesting creak, revealing the glorious Great Hall to the first years who stood in lines behind the newly acquainted Professor McGonagall. The first years had been in Hogwarts for a good five minutes by now, and the sheer size of it was amazing. They had all gasped to see the entrance hall with its grand marble staircase that led to upper floors. The stone stairs that led down to the dungeons. The lights, the smell of magic, and of course, Peeves the poltergeist. One pupil would never forget that meeting for sure, especially with that large bump on their head! The amount of fire within brackets that was about the castle was enough to dry James, Severus and the boy somewhat, but whenever he walked, James' shoes squelched unattractively.  
  
Through the centre between two tables full of pupils they all marched down to the end where the teachers sat. In the middle sat an ancient looking man, with hair and beard the colour of silver and upon his crooked nose rested a pair of half-moon spectacles. He eyed the first years with curiosity. James was so overwhelmed by the whole place, his legs felt less stable than jelly and found himself leaning against Severus as he walked for some sort of support.  
  
"What are you _doing_?" Severus whispered. He didn't seem very happy that their shoulders were touching.  
  
"I'm not sure...but I think I'm dreaming." Sighed James. It was true. It was as though he had stepped into a dream, the place was so wonderful it was unreal. Yet, it was! And he was going to spend the next seven years here too! James had never felt so happy before.  
  
The line stopped abruptly, right in front of a small three-legged stool. Upon the stood sat a very old hat, battered and patched, and above the brim was a large rip. The first years looked upon the frail object with some disappointment – when McGonagall had been talking about a "sorting ceremony", many had expected something extravagant and large. What they hadn't expected was an ancient hat with holes in it. But then, the hat did something extraordinary. The rip moved, the hat twitched and opened the rip even more, moving it about as though it was a mouth! It cleared its voice and strangely enough, began to sing:  
  
_"Welcome new pupils;  
I'm the sorting hat, you see  
You'll never find a hat  
That's as clever as me.  
Wear me on your head  
And I'll search your mind,  
Read your true colours-  
There's nothing you can hide!  
I'll find the place where you belong,  
The house that suits you best,  
The house that will outshine your talents,  
Yet put them to the test.  
You might end up in Gryffindor,  
Where the valiant and brave be.  
Or perhaps Slytherin suits you best,  
The house of the cunning and crafty.  
Or maybe even Ravenclaw,  
If vast knowledge lies in you.  
How about dear Hufflepuff?  
Where loyalty is true.  
So, don't just stand there!  
Try me on for size!  
I'll find exactly where you deserve,   
I'm sure you'll be surprised."  
_  
The hat finished and the whole Hall burst into loud applause and cheers, all except the first year, who were all still in shock of seeing a singing hat. As soon as the cheering had ceased, Professor McGonagall unrolled a scroll of parchment and addressed the small crowd.  
  
"Now when I call your names, each of you will step up to the hat, put it on your head and wait to be sorted. Then you shall go to your house table." She informed. James looked behind him and wondered which table belonged to which house and hoped that he wouldn't end up going to the wrong table and make a fool of himself.  
  
McGonagall began to shout out each name, beginning with "Aconite, Alden."  
  
A boy stepped nervously up to the stool, sat upon it and put the sorting hat upon his blond head, the brim falling over his eyes. There was a minute of silence before the hat screeched, "RAVENCLAW!"  
  
A table nearest to James burst into cheers as Alden Aconite joined them. They all congratulated him on being sorted into their house. "Anderson, Samantha" was next to be sorted and ended up in Gryffindor. Table on the far right whooped and cheered as the tiny squat girl went to join them.  
  
"Black, Narcissa!"  
  
Narcissa walked with wiggling hips to the stool, carefully wore the sorting hat and was quickly sorted into "SLYTHERIN". Happily, she ran up to the Slytherin table where some of the girls gave her a congratulatory hug. James quirked a brow – how typical of a Black to be sorted into that house!  
  
"Black, Sirius!"  
  
The boy walked up to the stool, his hair still sopping wet from the fight in the lake, sat down, and waited to be sorted. To everyone's surprise, the hat sent him to Gryffindor. James and many others turned to watch him run up to the Gryffindor table. One girl, who could only have been Narcissa's sister (or at least, must've been a very close relative to her.), shouted and cheered the loudest, standing up to greet him by shouting, "Well done, Sirius! I'm proud of you!"  
  
A few more were sorted. One by one, the first year was being separated into the four different houses. A small, redheaded girl with startling green eyes named Lily Evans was sorted into Gryffindor, along with her friend Remus Lupin. A few more pupils went to Hufflepuff, some to Slytherin, and a couple to Ravenclaw. Then came the Ps.  
  
"Pettigrew, Peter!" shouted McGonagall.  
  
With a squeak, Peter timidly walked up to the stool for the sorting. The hat took some time to decide where he was to be put. Finally, after what felt like forever, the hat screamed "GRYFFINDOR!" More cheers from the Gryffindor pupils as Peter half ran, half tripped his way to the table, where he was greeted warmly. James suddenly felt sick, knowing what was coming next...  
  
"Potter, James!"  
  
James gave a small whimper, but moved his way up to the hat to put it on his head. It sunk down over his eyes, covering his sight in darkness. He could feel his whole body shake, the butterflies in his stomach expanding so much they felt as though they were fluttering up his gullet. A small voice whispered in his ear – a voice not owned by any person. It was the hat.  
  
"My, my, now _you're_ an easy one! So easy, you needn't have put me on at all. You belong in..."  
  
There was a second of silence.  
  
"...GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
With a sigh of relief, James took off the hat, gently settled it back upon the stool and ran up to Gryffindor's table, where they all cheered and patted his back encouragingly. Many were congratulating him, Sirius just grinned at him. The sorting went quite quickly after his own, perhaps because his nerves had settled down and he could relax and enjoy the comforts of the Great Hall. Severus had his wish granted and was placed with the Slytherins, much to the house's happiness. Once the last pupil (Yeoman, Miles) had been sorted into Ravenclaw, McGonagall collected the sorting hat and the stool and kept them, and Dumbledore stood up, addressing the whole school. Many eyed him with awe.  
  
"Now, I'll make this brief, for I'm sure you all just want to eat and not listen to my babbling." He said, his voice held some power. He smiled and looked over his half-moon glasses. "Just one announcement, and that is to do with our new plantation on the grounds. You will notice a Whomping Willow planted some little way from the school – I advice _all_ not to go nowhere near it, unless you don't mind living the rest of your life without a few limbs."  
  
A few gasped at this warning. Deep inside, James hoped the headmaster was joking, though his eyes bore no glint of humour what so ever.  
  
"Oh, and of course, the usual warning of no one is to go near the Forbidden Forest – and I _mean_ no one. Now, I think it best that we stray away from these dark announcements and fill ourselves up with as much food as possible. Therefore, tuck in!" He sat down and at once a whole array of food appeared on every table. James couldn't believe it. Never had he seen so much choice together before. There was pork, lamb, chicken, beef, all sorts of pie, mashed potatoes, new potatoes, roast potatoes, chips, peas, carrots, gravy trains, an assortment of creams and sauces, stuffing, Yorkshire puddings, and much more. Greedily, James scooped as much food as he possibly could on his plate, filled his chalice full of pumpkin juice and began to devour the lot as though he had been starved all his life and this was the first time he had ever had food. As he gulped it all down, he listened as everyone got friendly, talking about their families, interests and basic Hogwarts life.  
  
"I'm muggle-born." Said the girl named Lily, gracefully sipping some pumpkin juice. "Is that what you call them, yes?"  
  
"Yup." Said Sirius Black, shovelling chicken pie covered in gravy into his mouth. "I'm what they called a pure-blood. This here," he pointed his fork at the girl that had welcomed him into the house of Gryffindor so fondly, "is my cousin, Andromeda."  
  
"You'll love it here in Gryffindor." She said proudly. "We stick by each other no matter what, so if you've got trouble – especially with them Slytherins there – then come to one of us. We'll help you out!"  
  
"I still can't believe I got to go to Hogwarts!" sighed Remus happily, playing with his food.  
  
"Eh?" asked Sirius.  
  
"Oh, nothing..." Remus blushes and bowed his head down, his voice going very quiet. "I...it's just that...I'm so privileged to be...here. You know?"  
  
As soon as the last titbit of food was gulped down, the plates were all cleared and all sorts of puddings were spread across the tables. James eagerly grabbed some jam tart and poured hot custard over it. Quickly, he glanced over his shoulder to take a peak at how Severus was doing. He seemed fine would've been an understatement, he seemed to be the centre of attention as many asked him all sorts of questions. James smiled and turned back to the pudding that was practically screaming, _"Eat me! Eat me!"_ and he did.  
  
"James, right?" said the voice of Sirius. James looked up and eyed him cautiously.  
  
"Yeah. And you're Sirius?"  
  
"The one and only." He smiled and ate a bit of sticky toffee pudding.  
  
"Why did you throw me into the lake?" James asked before he could stop himself. True, he wanted to know why, yet he didn't actually want to just blurt the question...not just yet, at least. Sirius just laughed.  
  
"Hmm...I think it's because you strike me as a bit of a troublemaker." He quirked a brow and grinned when James' cheeks turned a nasty shade of pink. So, it _was_ true... "Well, so am I. Just a little – hardly ever really. Most of the time I'm a little angel."  
  
"Stop lying, Sirius! You cause more trouble alone than the whole Black children put together!" argued Andromeda.  
  
"OK, so I exaggerated a little-"  
  
"What's your point?" asked James impatiently.  
  
"Mate, you're my competition...can't let you get the upper hand on me, so...you know. No offence meant!" he explained. James' mouth dropped open. Competition or not, there was still no need to throw him into the freezing lake like that! But there was something deep inside him, growing in a way. Perhaps it was his competitive spirit – a strong trait that he held. With a smirk, James decided to humour Sirius a bit.  
  
"No, no offence meant at all. But I bet I could out-do you any day!" he joked with a smirk. He didn't want to – he probably could, but he didn't want to. First day at Hogwarts and he was digging himself a deep hole. He could feel his conscience kicking him, screaming at him, _"what are you doing, you fool?!"_  
  
"Oh _really_? I bet you can't!" said Sirius.  
  
"Bet I can!"  
  
"Well, bet then!"  
  
"No!" retorted James.  
  
"What? Scared, are we?" teased Sirius. There was something quite irritating about his tone of voice that urged James to want to bet with him. Unfortunately, it was too urging.  
  
"No...ok, fine! I bet I can out-do you, Mr So-called-trouble-maker!" said James, extending his arm out for Sirius to shake. Sirius took the hand and the both of them shook on the bet.  
  
"You're on!" he said. "By the way, watch out!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Sirius had made a quick grab for his wand and quickly, used a banishing spell. It wasn't very powerful, but it was enough to hit James off his seat and hard onto the stone floor. He lay there, dazed, laughter echoing in his ears.  
  
"Hehe...two nil!" shouted Sirius triumphantly.  
  
Distantly, he could hear Andromeda tut disapprovingly. "Bad form, Sirius. Bad form!"

* * *

_Characters and basically anything that has to do with the wizarding world is © to J.K.Rowling._


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